Vegan in NOLA: Rouses Market

Before I go out of town, I spend a ton of time researching the area looking for vegan-friendly bars and restaurants, and for grocery stores in case I need to make my own food. For the Orthodox Young Professionals Conference in New Orleans, I found a nearby Rouses Market to stock up the condo I rented with a group of friends.
I noticed on their website they have a dietitian that put together a couple shopping guides for people with special diets. I emailed the store to see if they could do a vegan shopping guide and maybe a recipe, and pretty soon Esther, the amazing dietician, sent me a list of more than 1200 vegan items available at Rouses!!! Sure, it includes EVERY vegan thing in the store, like beans and fruit juice, but still. It just goes to show how much vegan food people are already eating without even thinking about it.

Of course there is also a big variety of fruits and veggies, fresh bread, an olive bar, hummus, guac, salsa & chips. There are hot and cold cereals that can be eaten with the non-dairy milk. The salad bar isn’t too exciting, but it’ll do (I filled a box with all romaine leaves so I wouldn’t have to spend a ton on a whole package of romaine hearts I wouldn’t be able to finish). They also have locally made kombucha that is delicious.

By the way, I did indeed get a recipe from Esther that can be whipped up using simple ingredients found at Rouses, and probably also at a store near you! I’ll be sharing that Wednesday. And don’t forget to check out my New Orleans Fattoush!

Meanwhile if you’re going to be in NOLA and curious to know if Rouses Market carries a specific item, comment below and I’ll check my giant shopping list for you!